Remains found in Arizona desert in 1982 identified as man who left home to search for gold in Nevada

Authorities said Tuesday that they have finally identified the remains of a California man "found in the vast desert" of northwest Arizona in 1982.

Mohave County Sheriff's officials said advanced DNA testing concluded that the remains were those of Virgil R. Renner, who left his home in Humboldt County, California, in the early 1970s to search for gold in Nevada.

Investigators said Renner never married or had children and his only siblings - a brother and sister - both died long ago.

It's unknown how or why Renner ended up in Arizona.

His remains were found in September 1982 in a desert area near Kingman and an autopsy estimated Renner died between 1979 and 1981 at around age 55.

Recovered at the scene were a tattered short-sleeve shirt, parts of a leather belt, denim pants and one argyle sock along with a plastic hair comb, a can opener, fingernail clippers and a toothbrush.  

Renner's identity remained unknown and unclaimed in the Tucson medical examiner's office until 2020 when a special investigations unit brought the remains to Mohave County.

A DNA sample was sent to a Othram, genetic laboratory in Texas, that was able to identify Renner using advanced testing, forensic-grade genome sequencing and forensic genetic genealogy.

"Othram's in-house forensic genetic genealogy team then used the profile in a genealogical search to generate new investigative leads in the case, including the identification of distant relatives of the unknown man," the lab said in a statement. "A follow-up investigation by the Mohave County Sheriff's Office SIU confirmed the identity of the man as Virgil R. Renner from Humboldt County, California."

The sheriff's office thanked Othram for their help in solving the case.

"If not for their help, Renner would have remained another John Doe found in the vast desert of Mohave County," the sheriff's office said.

In:
• Arizona
• Nevada
• DNA
• California